Goodbye 'Yellowstone' Road

Yellowstone injunctions have long constituted important protection for commercial tenants in New York. Originating with the 1968 Court of Appeals decision in First Nat'l Stores v. Yellowstone Shopping Ctr, 21 N.Y.2d 630 (1968), New York courts permit a commercial tenant who has been served with a notice to cure or a notice of a default from its landlord to obtain a stay tolling the cure period and enjoining the landlord from terminating the lease or commencing a summary proceeding. See, e.g., Graubard Mollen Horowitz Pomeranz & Shapiro v. 600 Third Ave. Assocs., 93 N.Y.2d 508, 514 (1999). A Yellowstone injunction thus preserves the status quo while the tenant challenges the validity of the landlord's actions. Yellowstone injunctions are “routinely” granted and courts “accept[] far less than the normal showing required for preliminary injunctive relief.” Post v. 120 E. End Ave., 62 N.Y.2d 19, 25 (1984). Yellowstone injunctions are creatures of case law and not statute or regulation.